Slimming Down with Shape Up - Preview
by VGChartz Staff , posted on 13 June 2014 / 2,532 Views
Motion controls and fitness games go together like chocolate and peanut butter, so it should come as no surprise that Ubisoft is bringing yet another workout game to Kinect for Xbox One. Shape Up is a collection of exercise-themed mini-games that puts a zany twist on many traditional forms of cardio and strength training. I had the opportunity to demo it at Microsoft’s booth at this year’s E3.
The first thing on the agenda was to wait for Kinect to scan my likeness into the game. This was a quick and easy process that resulted in lifelike video rendering of my body on-screen. While the image was fuzzy and there was a noticeable amount of delay at first between my movements in the real world and what was displayed on-screen, I was impressed that I could play as myself and not some outline or shadow. You can set the game to record your movements during certain poses. The game also records your performance during the mini-games; recordings which you can download in order to compete against someone else’s high score if you happen to be playing alone.
The first mini-game I tried was Push Them Up - one of the mini-games demonstrated during Ubisoft's press conference. The name is a play on words for the push up exercises required of the game. I assumed a push up position several feet away from the Kinect, which was still able to track and record me even though I was nearly level with the floor. The game tasks you to do as many push up as you can in 90 seconds. It also grades you on how well you perform each push up. The lower you bring your chest to the ground during each push up the higher your score.
My on-screen avatar competed with that day’s record holder for most push ups. The game adds weights such as an elephant and other objects to your back on-screen to represent the fatigue that sets in and makes each consecutive push up more difficult. At certain points the game will command you to freeze, meaning you have to remain perfectly still in a plank position until it tells you to resume your exercising. It definitely takes its toll and I spent the last 15 seconds or so doing push ups from my knees. Still, my final score of 91 push ups beat the current record, according to the Shape Up representative minding the booth.
The next game I tried was Squat Me to the Moon. This game revolves around squats where you bend your knees while keeping your back straight. Each squat propels your on-screen representation a little higher in the sky, with the moon as your intended destination. Like Push Them Up, the game judges you on how crisp and clean your squats are. Once you reach a certain height, the game switches gears and becomes a side-scrolling shooter where you have to lean left and right in order to shoot enemies that descended upon you. Ultimately, I lost this game to my pre-recorded opponent, even though I performed more squats (58 to his 51), which shows that a better grading really does matter in Shape Up.
Next up was Ab Zapper, which I expected to be a similar challenge albeit involving sit ups or crunches, although that didn't quite turn out to be the case. I certainly did have to assume a crunch position, with my buttocks on the ground and my upper body bent upward at an angle facing the screen. Within seconds I could feel the burn within my abdominal section. Ab Zapper requires you to fully extend your hands out in front of you towards the screen. A target reticule appears on-screen that responds to the movement of your hands pressed together. From there, alien enemies descended to Earth and your task is to zap them using your hands.
It was definitely a challenging objective while maintaining such an intense abdominal position, but the difficulty was compounded by the game’s lack of responsiveness to the movement of my hands. This may have had something to do with my position, but the target reticule moved sluggishly, causing me to miss numerous enemies. Needless to say, I also lost this game.
The final game I tried was Piano Step, which was also shown during Ubisoft's press conference. In this rhythm game you stand on top of a four key piano board. Streaming notes indicate which key you're supposed to step on, requiring you to move left and right at a second’s notice. I played along to the always-motivational “Eye of the Tiger” by Survivor. Being a notoriously bad music rhythm game player it was no surprise to me that I had trouble landing the steps at the correct time. Every now and then a stream of notes would appear in succession, which results in a prolonged period of running in place. This was the longest of the games I played and by the end of it I had definitely broke out into a sweat.
Between three days of standing in long lines and traversing across the massive LA Convention Center on foot, E3 always provides some sort of a workout. In spite of this, Shape Up was a unique and taxing workout that was also surprisingly fun. Push Them Up was definitely my favorite of the bunch, and it will be interesting to see what other zany twists on traditional workouts are included with the final product. The graphics are bright and colorful and you will be able to compete in competitive multiplayer with a pal when Shape Up releases exclusively on the Xbox One this November.
